Serbia expects Turkish Stream pipeline branch – Gas from Russia to reach the country

Serbia expects that the second branch of the Turkish Stream pipeline will pass through the country and the Western Balkans, President of Serbia said on July 10 at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.

– Considering that the Turkish Stream is being built at the moment, Serbia expects an agreement by which one of the branches will pass through its territory and the territories of the countries of the Western Balkans. This option, of course, is in the interest of Serbia and other countries of the region – Vucic said, addressing the participants of the Petroleum Congress.

Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Antic says that Turkey was becoming a key hub in the gas transit system and adds that projects of cooperation in gas industry have been defined.

– We've also talked about the preparation of the visit by President Erdogan and the need for a big number of Turkish businessmen to be a part of that delegation. The idea is to turn the strong relations our leaders are establishing in the filed of politics into a serious economic cooperation – Antic said.

The Turkish Stream will be the key project for securing the supply of gas to Turkey and diversifying gas routes to Europe, Turkish Minister of Energy Berat Albayrak said at the official opening of the congress. The project entails the construction of a pipeline through the Black Sea to the European part of Turkey and further, to the Greek border.

The intergovernmental agreement on the Turkish Stream was signed by Russia and Turkey on October 10, 2016. The first part entails the supply of gas to the Turkish market, and the second one pertains to south and southeast Europe. Each branch will have the capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas a year.

The total cost of the project has been estimated at around EUR 11.4 billion.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Turkish Stream pipeline

Aleksandar Vucic

World Petroleum Congress Istanbul

Russian gas

gas from Russia

Aleksandar Antic

gas transit

Berat Albayrak